Montevideo, Dee, 15.
'HE British heavy cruiser H.M.S, Cumberland, 10,000-tons and armed with eight 8-inch guns, arrived in Uruguayan waters yesterday to reinforce the British naval "death watch" over the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, reliable quarters Yeported last night. Three additional British cruisers, the Achilles, Ajax and Exeter, als patrolled waters just outside Montevideo after chasing the Admiral Graf Spee into the harbour here in the greatest naval battle of the European War, H.MS, Achilles could be seen yesterday steaming slowly back und forth across the mouth of the River Plate just outside Uruguayan territorial] waters with her crew at battle stations and her gun crews manning her eight 6-inch guns. Her fellow cruisers Exeter and Ajax were believed to be close by as the British Navy established its determined watch not to permit the Graf Spee to escape to raid Allied commerce on the high seas again.
The British Navy, it was evident, foresees the possibility that The Admiral Graf Spee may make a desperate break for the open sea.
'The German vessel began prepartions for repairs, indicating that she would attempt a' fighting dash to the open. sea instead of internment and ismantiement. Sailors of the Ger~ man pocket "battleship" were seen hauling steel" plates aboard to patch the holes caused by the shell~ fire of the—British cruisers. With preparations for repairs already started, it was believed that the Germans were determined to go down fighting Father than turn their voss-l over to the Uruguayan Government Until the end of the hostilities. De-Spite the obvious foolhardiness Such an attempt to escape, the Germans apparently believed that with their superior armaments they mist effectively cripple some of the British warships before being but out United Press survey of the damlage inflicted on the Adiniial Graf Spee fey the British cruisers in the two day running battle sit Uke South American coast this week ¢uclosed that two shells had plsrevd tie German war 's thick' Mghting tower, entering fon the port side and emerging on the starboard side.
Two sections of thick armour plate also were smashed in the fore part of {the chip on the starboard side and Ave impacts, apparently from small shells, were noted on the waterline on the portside. One of two planes on the ship's deck had its tail shot off and ils fuselage damaged.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.